FOOD AND HEALTH ESSENTIALS

China to phase out certain pesticides

As part of its ongoing effort to improve the safety of farm produce, China is reportedly ready to ban the use of 10 pesticides by the end of 2022.

According to reporting by Bloomberg/BNA and others, China’s Ministry of Agriculture will ban the production and use of aldicarb, phorate and isocarbophos by the end of 2018, ethoprop, omethoate, methyl isothiocyanate and aluminum phosphide by the end of 2020, and chloropicrin, carbofuran and methomyl by the end of 2022.

Zeng Yande, the director of the Ministry’s pesticide management offices, reportedly noted that this latest phasing out of toxic pesticides is likely to have little impact on China’s agricultural industry, since the 10 pesticides named account for only 1.4 percent of annual pesticide production in that country. However, this latest action follows the implementation earlier this year of national Pesticide Management Regulations, as well as previous announcements regarding the withdrawal of additional pesticides.

The Bloomberg/BNA report on China’s latest plans to ban toxic pesticides is available here.